Kevin Burke the chairman of The Business Council’s Board of Directors is please to announce the election of two new board members at the board meeting in Cooperstown on July 22, 2009. They are Gail Grimmett, Senior Vice President – New York for Delta Air Lines and William J. Golden the Chief Executive Officer of United Healthcare of New York.

Based in New York City, Ms. Grimmett oversees all key commercial functions and as the highest ranking executive in New York, she leads all marketing, commercial sales, government affairs and community relations efforts. She is charged with developing and achieving Delta’s key strategic objectives for the Empire State.

Mr. Golden has been responsible for the integration of United Healthcare and Oxford Health Plans while increasing opportunities in the core New York market and extending product offerings in upstate New York. The New York Health Plan currently covers over 1.6 million people with over $5.8 billion in revenue.

To read more about the new members of The Business Council’s Board click here.

Anne Flaherty of the Associated Press reports today on Forbes.com -”Congress wants to give the government a direct role in deciding how much executives on Wall Street are paid, after the biggest U.S. banks accepted billions in taxpayer money and still managed to distribute $1 million bonuses to thousands of employees.

The House was expected to pass legislation Friday by Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, that would ban “incentive-based” pay that could threaten the economy or viability of the institution.

The bill, which would give regulators nine months to hash out the details, would give the government unprecedented say in how private corporations reward brokers and traders.

Democrats said excessive salaries and bonuses risk harming the broader economy.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

Rebecca Smith and Russell Gold of the Wall Street Journal report -”New Jersey’s biggest utility is outfitting 200,000 utility poles with solar panels, part of the state’s embrace of a try-anything strategy that has made it the nation’s second-biggest producer of solar energy behind California.

Instead of bemoaning what it doesn’t have — bright sunshine, high winds, empty land — New Jersey has looked for places where solar capacity can be squirreled away inconspicuously. In addition to utility poles, the state is pushing solar panels for industrial locations with many flat roofs.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

The Wall Street Journal had two postings that we thought would be of interest.

Proposed Health Tax Tests Obama
A proposed tax on generous health-insurance plans presents a challenge to Obama, who promised during his campaign not to raise taxes on the middle class.

Repealing Erisa—II
The House bill would harm businesses’ ability to offer insurance.

Cara Matthews reports on LoHud.com - “New York has an estimated $2.1 billion gap in this year’s budget, a larger-than-expected gap that will force Gov. David Paterson and lawmakers to reopen the state’s spending plan in the fall.

The figure, announced by Paterson and state officials, is based on operating results through the first three months of the fiscal year, which began April 1, and economic projections for a continued weak economy.

The problems will only get worse in future years: The deficit will grow to $4.6 billion in 2010-11 and $18.2 billion in 2012-13, according to a report from the state Division of Budget. The cumulative.”

To read the rest of Cara’s story click here.

Chris Swingle writes on Pressconnects.com -”Adult children can stay on their parents’ health insurance policy through age 29, laid-off workers can keep insurance under COBRA longer, and health consumers and care providers get extra rights under three new laws signed in Rochester on Wednesday by New York Gov. David A. Paterson.

The changes - all proposed in January during the governor’s State of the State address - won’t spend any additional tax dollars and should save money in the long run by getting more people insured, Paterson said at a press conference at University of Rochester Medical Center.

Insurers might face some additional cost because some loopholes are closing, but, said Paterson, “It will be fair.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

The Associated Press reports - “The worsening economy is taking a toll on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, despite a nearly $2.7 billion state bailout.

But the giant transit agency said today it still expects to keep its promise to state leaders to get through 2010 without raising fares or cutting service.

The MTA said the bailout, cost-cutting and proceeds from recent fare and toll hikes will offset dramatic drops in tax revenue and ridership.

The agency says it expects to get less than half as much real estate tax income this year as it had last year - a projection that has worsened significantly in the last five months. Projected fare and toll collections also are dropping, with ridership off more than 3 percent since last year.”

Don Cazentre of the Syracuse Post -Standard reports - “A proposal to allow wine to be sold in New York’s grocery stores has been reintroduced in the state legislature, this time with changes the sponsors hope will end opposition to the idea from the state’s wine and liquor stores.

The new bill expands the list of products that can be sold by wine and liquor retailers to include such items as non-alcohol drinks, snacks, ice and wine accessories. Current law strictly limits those retailers to wine and liquor.

The new bill also expands the hours liquor stores can operate, allows liquor store owners to own more than one license and allows them to sell their licenses if they close. The bill is sponsored in the state Senate by Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, and in the state Assembly by Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit.

The previous version of the bill, which was pulled after opposition mounted this spring, would have allowed grocers, who can already sell beer along with food and other products, to sell wine but added nothing for liquor stores.

In the past few years, the state has been cracking down on wine and liquor stores, preventing them from selling certain wine-related accessories, such as decanters or gift bags.

“This proposal should increase revenue for the state, and level the playing field for grocers as well as the independent wine and liquor retailers,” said Kyle Sklerov, Krueger’s communications director.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

It seems that Governor Patterson is going to try again to impose a tax on natural gas production in New York State. Last spring the Governor tried to include a production tax of 5 percent on the existing 14,000 wells in New York State but it was not included in the final budget.

This time the Governor has proposed a bill that would impose a 4 percent tax on the market value of gas extracted from wells in place before Jan. 2010. There would be a phased in approach for wells in place after Jan. 1 2010 where the percentage of tax would increase by 1 percent, ending with 4 percent by 2013.

The proposal has not yet been introduced but is currently being considered by the Legislature and could be part of future budget discussions. There is discussion that any revenue from such a tax should go toward funding the DEC since they do not currently have adequate staff to handle the inevitable increase in permit applications once the DEC issues the new regulations for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. The current proposal has the revenues going to the state’s general fund.

There already is a production tax on the existing 14,000 wells in the state in the form of real property tax. Adding an additional 4 percent tax on top of real property taxes will be another deterrent to development of the Marcellus Shale. The leadership in Albany, all down state democrats, need to look at development of the Marcellus Shale as not just a way to increase the state’s general fund. The potential for job creation is staggering and all these folks will pay income and sales taxes with higher salaries from their new skilled jobs. Additional taxes on natural gas production would discourage companies from doing business in New York and is a bad idea.

The rising cost of health insurance coverage is a major concern for New York’s businesses. While most acknowledge the need for health care reform, they are increasingly concerned about adding new costs through higher taxes.

Unlike many other states, New York already has an extensive health care infrastructure with a variety of public plans subsidized by huge health care taxes charged to the state’s employers and others. In a letter to New York’s Congressional delegation, Kenneth Adams, president & CEO of The Business Council of New York State, calls on lawmakers to be mindful of the cost of federal health care reform on New York businesses. Adams asks that they view national reform proposals through “a New York lens” and avoid adding new costs to employers in a state that already has above average costs.

“New York State already has the broadest safety net of subsidized health coverage options of any state in the nation,” wrote Adams. “Subsidized health insurance options in New York come at a cost to our businesses and taxpayers. Currently, taxes on New Yorkers who voluntarily buy private health coverage total about $4.2 billion per year, reflecting as much as 10 percent of the cost of health insurance in some areas of New York.”

To read the rest of the release click here.